Open Markets, Closed Doors: The Hidden Barriers to IP-Driven Growth

Ryan Denson
Manager, International IP for the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC), U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Published

June 01, 2026

Intellectual property (IP) and market access are inseparable. Strong IP protections mean little if innovators cannot enter and compete on fair terms, and open markets deliver limited value if they do not protect the inventions, brands, and creative works that drive investment. In practice, these two forces shape both the incentive to create and the ability to commercialize.

Trends look steady—but concerning: The 2026 U.S. Chamber International IP Index shows that while general market access and commercialization trends remain steady, many of the economies benchmarked are introducing laws and policies that will effectively make it more difficult for rightsholders to access their respective markets and commercialize their IP assets.

Trouble at home: Recent federal actions are injecting new uncertainty into America’s technology transfer ecosystem. New patent licensing changes, pushes to exercise Bayh-Dole “march-in rights” and growing unpredictability in the market as a result of price controls risks chilling investment, weakening the IP rules that enable private-sector innovation and limiting breakthrough products for the people who need them.

But there’s more pressure abroad.

Localization: More governments are using industrial policy to pull manufacturing, R&D, and know-how inside their borders, sometimes conditioning access on technology transfer and local investment. Countries where these kinds of localization-driven approaches have taken hold include Algeria, China, Indonesia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Ghana, and Kenya.

Licensing: Licensing and commercialization are also being complicated by direct government intervention and review of technology transfer agreements in Ecuador and by Indonesia’s constraints on licensing alongside government-use and compulsory licensing tools that reduce predictability for IP-based partnerships.

SEPs: Governments around the world are increasingly taking a more active role in the standard-essential patent (SEP) landscape, from China’s intervention in SEP rate setting to the UK’s consultation that could reshape licensing frameworks.

Why it matters: IP protection is increasingly being tested through market-access conditions that determine whether innovators can compete at all. Even where headline indicators look stable, governments are layering on policies that make it harder to license, scale, and commercialize IP in practice. When access depends on localization mandates, forced technology transfer, or government-driven licensing outcomes, risk rises and investment falls. Weaker predictability means fewer partnerships, slower commercialization, and fewer breakthrough products reaching consumers and patients.